Navy invites TFA LB-FB Colton Plante for official visit this weekend

Orlando First Acadcemy LB-FB Colton Plante is weighing his options for college football between Navy, South Carolina and Rutgers.

Orlando First Acadcemy LB-FB Colton Plante is weighing his options for college football between Navy, South Carolina and Rutgers. (JOSHUA C. CRUEY/ORLANDO SENTINEL)

By Chris Hays | Orlando Sentinel

Orlando First Academy's Colton Plante, in the opinion of many, should be playing NCAA Division 1 college football next season. After Tuesday, he is at least one step closer than he thought he would be.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker/fullback prospect and his father Mike Plante have been working the recruiting grind, trying to make some headway into getting an opportunity at a Football Bowl Subdivision school. He has received preferred walk-on invitations from South Carolina and Rutgers, but on Tuesday representatives from the football coaching staff at the U.S. Naval Academy were on the TFA campus.

They met with Plante briefly and offered him an official recruiting visit to the campus this weekend, and Plante jumped at the opportunity. There has yet to be a scholarship offer extended, but once on campus that is highly likely to come to fruition.

It was a surprising turn of events for the senior.

“It’s all kind of weird how it came about. One of my teammates, his dad is a real big Navy fan and he sent all my newspaper clippings to the school. I guess that’s how they first figured out my name,” Plante said. “So they came down yesterday for the first time and saw me and liked me so they’re going to bring me up as a fullback [prospect]. It all happened really fast.”

Plante, the No. 46-ranked player in the Sentinel's 2013 Central Florida Super60, had nearly given up the search for a possible full scholarship. He was beginning to focus on his possible situations at South Carolina and Rutgers.

“I was really excited and I wasn’t expecting it at all,” he said. “I didn’t even know they were coming by the school. I’m just really excited and thrilled about the opportunity.”

There didn’t appear as if there were going to be many opportunities ahead for Plante coming into his senior season. In fact he was focused on one school and figured he would be playing at Football Championship Subdivision participant Furman in South Carolina next season.

But then TFA had its dream season. The Royals went undefeated through 12 games until running into eventual state Class 4A runner-up Madison County in the playoff semifinals. As the season progressed, Plante began to pick up many accolades and lots of attention.

“I really wasn’t worried about where I was going or how big the school was. I just knew I wanted play college football somewhere. I didn’t care where,” Plante said. “Furman was the strongest and toward the end of the summer and beginning of the season that’s what I thought I was going to do.

“Then we had the great season that was a great team effort and we had great senior leadership and from the team doing well it helped a lot of us get seen this year. It was great for us and great for TFA, as well.”

And now he has some decisions to make, but it won’t have to come down to whether he has a scholarship. Plante is fortunate enough that his grandparents saved away money for their grandchildren to go to college, and so he will weigh seriously the superlatives of each school before he decides where he is going to go.

There is no rule that a player has to sign on National Signing Day, which is next Wednesday (Feb. 6), and Plante will not do so. After the official visit to Navy, he will take unofficial trips to South Carolina and Rutgers on consecutive weekends.

“I’m really excited about those, too,” he said of the schools offering him walk-on opportunities. “They are really competitive schools in big conferences. I’m still debating the options between all my schools. I really have no idea where I want to go now.”

Yes, Navy certainly threw a wrench into the process, but it’s a good problem to have.

“I’ve thought about it probably for the past 24 hours straight,” Plante said of what he might do should Navy offer a scholarship during his visit. “I’d for sure have to talk it over with some of my coaches and my parents and ask for input and at this point I honestly have no idea what I want to do.”